campbell



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

7 A. 0. CAMPBELL. MECHANISM FOR FEEDING BLANKS T0 DIES 820. No 577,643.

Patented Feb...23, 1897 OMM ZZZJL Z Attorney.

WITNESSES I @ZMMM (No Model.) 2 ShetsSheen 2.

' A. C. CAMPBELL.

MEGHANISM 'FOR FEEDING BLANKS T0 DIES, 8:0.

No; 577,643. Patented Feb. 23, 1:397.v

Fl G12.

I WITNESSES;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW C. CAMPBELL, OF WVATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE E. JMANVILLE MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MECHANISM FOR FEEDING BLANKS TO DIES, 800.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,643, dated February23, 1897.

Application filed June 6, 1896. Serial No. 594,463. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that LANDREW G. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Vaterbury, in the county of New Haven and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMechanisms for Feeding Blanks to Dies and the Like, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My in vention relates to mechanism adapted for feeding blanks to dies,and particularly for feeding partly-formed sheet-metal buttonblanks oneby one to dies, &c., for giving to said blanks other forms; and the mainobject is to provide means for automatically assorting the blanks anddelivering them in regular order and in a uniform manner to the road orguide way which carries them to the dies, punches, or the like of themachine.

The invention consists partly in the blankassorting mechanism and partlyin the construction of and means for mounting the blank holder orreservoir.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated an embodiment of myinvention, the main portion of the punching or stamping machine beingomitted as forming no essential part of the present invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the feeding mechanism, and Fig. 2 is afront elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of thelower part of the blank holder or reservoir. Fig. 1 is a fragmentarysectional plan of the lower part of the reservoir in the plane indicatedby line 00 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents the blank in diametrical sectionand also as seen from the under side. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan viewof the transfer device on the same scale as Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. (5 is aplan of the pocketed blank-pusher 19, and Fig. 6 is an end view of thetransfer device as seen from the right in Fig. 6. Fig. 7 is a Viewshowing several forms of blanks which my machine or device may beemployed to assort, segregate, arrange, and deliver.

A represents, generally, the framework of the machine, which may be astamp, punch, or press, to which my feeder is adapted to supply blanksm, such as are seen in Fig. 5. This machine may, for example, have anintermittently-rotating carrier-bed B, (see Fig.

6,) containing sockets b to receive at proper points reciprocatingpunches or dies from above and below. I have not shown all the featuresof such a machine, as they have no necessary connection with myinvention any further than as here illustrated.

Mounted on the machine-frame A is the blank-reservoir. This reservoirconsists of a stationary back plate 1, connected by arms 2 with a ring3, to which is hinged at 4 a door 5, which closes the front of thereservoir and has in it, by preference, a window 5 of transparentmaterial. Within the open-sided boX described is mounted a short,rotatable, conical, hollow drum 6, which fits up to the back plate 1quite snugly and has in it a V-groove 7 to form a track. On the ring 3are mounted V-edged bearing-rollers 8, which engage the groove 7 andform an exterior rotative support for the drum 6. This mode of mountingthe drum 6 leaves it open at the back, and the blanks filled into ahopper 9 flow thence into the hollow of the drum 6 through an inlet 10.(Seen in Fig. 2.) The transparent Window 5 in front enables the operatorto see at any time how full the reservoir is and also the condition ofits contents. The drum 6 is rotated by a belt 11, which engages aV-groove 12 in the drum.

About the periphery of the drum 6 at its front and larger end is fixed astrip or band 13, preferably of sheet metal, which extends out beyondthe margin or end of the drum a distance equal to the depth of thecupped blank m, or a little more, the edge of said band 13 fitting uppretty closely to the inner face of'the door 5, thus leaving betweensaid door and the end of the drum 6 an inner channel 14 for the blanksto workdown into edgewise.

In the band 13 are formed at suitable intervals (see Fig. 4E) apertures15, through which the unsymmetrical blanks a; may pass by gravity,provided they are properly presented to said apertures. That is to say,the aperture 15 is of the proper size and contour to 9 permit a blank topass only when the open face to the blank-the lower face thereof, asseen in the upper view, Fig. 5-is presented to the inner face of thedoor. If presented the opposite way with the rounded or convex face tothe door, the blank cannot pass through, as the aperture has the sameform as the blank and the latter fits into it quite snugly when properlypresented. The blanks are tumbled about in the rotating drum 6 and workdown its inclined surface into the channel 14, which they can only enteredgewise. This channel thus effects the first step in assorting theblanks by presenting them edgewise to the apertures 15 at the bottom ofthe channel, and these apertures effect the second and last step bypermitting only those blanks faced in the proper direction to pass intoa lower channel 16 in the ring 3, which leads the blanks into thechannel in a guideway 17, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, where the lowerpart of the door 5 is broken away to show the construction. The lowerpart of the blank-reservoir and upper part of the guideway 17 are brokenaway also in Fig. 1 for purposes of illustration.

The arrow 2 in Fig. 2 indicates the direction of rotation of the drum 6,and I may say that the lower or outer channel 16 in the ring 3 will beby preference extended up toward the left in Fig. 2, as seen when thedoor 5 is broken away at the upper part of this figure, to about the topof the ring; but the extent of this channel is not very important.

The guideway 17 is seen in cross-section in the lower part of Fig. 6,and in its general construction it possesses no specially novel featuresexcept that, as seen in Fig. 1, it has in it at 17 a curve or bend, itslower extremity being turned at right angles to its upright portion, sothat at the delivery end, where the transfer device is situated theblanks are presented face downward, as represented in the upper view ofFig. 5.

In order to cause the rotating drum 6 to agitate the blanks in thereservoir, the drum may have on its inner face at intervals ribs 6 asseen in Figs. 1 and 3.

I will now describe the transfer device with special reference to Figs.6, 6, and 6 Mounted in a guideway in a part of the frame A of themachine is a reciprocating slide 18, which carries a pocketedblankpusher 19. (Seen detached in plan in Fig. 6 This pusheris so placedwith reference to the surface of the bed 13 of the machine that in itsforward movement it may play over the upper surface of the said bed, andin its forward end it has a blank-pocket formed by a notch or recess 20at one side, and a hinged finger 21, provided with a spring 22, at theother side. When the pusher is retracted and in its receiving position,Fig. 6, the foremost blank in the guideway 17 will occupy said pocket,and when the pusher is advanced to the position seen in dotted lines inFig. 6 the blank will be pushed out and over the bed B far enough tobring it directly over an aperture b in said bed, where it is held for amoment until a punch or die (a in Fig. 6") de scends and drives it downout of the pocket. The pusher now draws back and the springfinger 21releases itself from the die or punch by springing backward and finallywiping past the punch, as clearly indicated in Fig. 6, which shows theposition of the finger while the pusher is being drawn back. Theguideway 17is omitted from this viewin order to show the pusher moreclearly.

The delivery end of the guideway 17 is slotted for the passage of thepusher, as seen in Fig. 6 and the finger 21 will by preference beslotted, so that the upper portion or branch thereof will play over thetop of the guideway, and when the pusher is fully withdrawn this portionor branch of the finger will engage and be held back a little by adetentpin 23 in the guideway, so as to expand the pocket slightly andmake free room for the foremost blank to enter. As soon, however, as thepusher starts to advance the springfinger will be permitted to close onthe blank and hold it firmly in the pocket. The properly-timedreciprocating movement may be imparted to the pusher by any suitablemechanism connected with the machine which operates on the blanks fed toit. As shown in Fig. 6, this movement is effected by a cam don anupright shaft D, said cam acting on a lever E, coupled at its end totheslide 18 by a link 6. The cam withdraws or retracts the pusher 19,and a spring F advances it by holding the lever E up to its cam.

The shaft D may be driven from the main crank-shaft G of thepunching-machine by bevel-gears, as indicated in Fig. 1. I have notdeemed it necessary to illustrate and describe these features thatrelate to the punching-machine more fully.

My feeder is not limited to feeding unsymmetrical blanks of the formshown in Fig. 5. By altering the apertures 15 other forms ofunsymmetrical blanks may be assorted, of which those illustrated in Fig.7 are examples. The blank must be of such shape that it can pass throughthe apertures 15 only when faced in the proper direction. The channel inthe guideway 17 will be of such size as to permit the blanks to descendby gravity, but not permit them to turn over or pass each other. Theband 13, being rigidly fixed to and moving with the open-ended drum 6,forms in effect a part of the latter. This band is constructedseparately for convenience in the manufacture. The door or wall of thestationary box adjacent to which the front end or margin of the drummoves serves to close one side of the apertures 15 and also to form onewall of the channel 16.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim 1. Afeedingmechanismforunsymmetrical blanks and the like, having a stationary box,

ICC

and a conical, open-ended drum rotatively mounted in said box with themargin about its larger open end adjacent to the inner face of one wallof the box, said drum having at the said margin a channel 14, andunsymmetrical apertures 15, through which the blanks in the drum maypass when presented to the apertures facing in one direction only,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a feeding mechanism for unsymmetrical blanks and the like, thecombination with the stationary box, provided with a channel16 toreceive the blanks, the drum mounted rotatively in said box and providedat its edge with a channel 14:, having in its bottom unsymmetricalapertures 15 of such form as to fit the blank when the latter ispresented to it facing in one direction only, and a guideway arranged toreceive the blanks which fall through the openings in the drum into thechannel 16 in the box, substantially as set forth.

3. In a feeding mechanism for blanks and the like, the combination withthe stationary box, comprising the back plate 1, the ring 3,

having in it the channel 16, the arms connectin g said back plate andring, and the door 5, hinged to said ring, of the conical drum 6,mounted rotatively in said box and provided with a channel 14, and aband 13, having in it apertures 15 for the passage of the blanks fromthe drum to the outer channel 16, of the wheels 8 on which said drum isrotatively mounted, and a guideway connected with the channel 16 andadapted to receive the blanks from said channel, substantially as setforth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

ANDREW O. CAMPBELL.

Witnesses:

HENRY CONNE'IT, PETER A. Ross.

